The city of Boston started the St. Patrick’s Day celebration in America beginning in 1737. However, I have yet to confirm that that is where the saying “Show me your shamrocks“ was originally coined. Or Kiss me, I’m Irish, for that matter (link is my favorite SNL skit, btw).

Now that we are firmly entrenched into the spirit of the weekend, let’s get down to business.

I’m loving me some Yu Darvish this spring. He was a little shaky in the 1st inning yesterday and struggled with his fastball, but then settled down and was outstanding, finishing with five strikeouts in four innings of work. He said he felt good by the time he finished and admitted he’s where he needs to be at this point in camp.

“I think I’ve been really impressed by everybody’s attitude. The players had really productive off-seasons. I think nobody was happy with the way last season ended and I think they’ve shown up with a real seriousness about their work, and they know that if we want to get where we want to go this year, that we need to show up every single day. That’s not coming from us, per se. That’s coming from within the player group and it’s really important for them to be the type of team that’s going to be a tough out every single day.”

Epstein also touched on baseball’s new rules changes in the interview.

Who’s ready for the season to start? It would be insanity to think the Cubs win 100 games this year but they sure feel like they could. I’ll drink a green beerto that.

Cubs News & Notes

Per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, there’s a sense that Epstein and Joe Maddonare in a better place ($) after a much-needed cooling-off period following last season’s second-half offensive collapse and Game 163 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The team’s rotation looks about as good as any in the National League, and Lester remains the group’s vocal and symbolic leader.

The bullpen is a different matter, though Epstein said he does not “foresee anything significant at all” in terms of new acquisitions and added that he is confident in the team’s existing depth.

As far as the new rules changes go, Maddon isn’t exactly thrilled about the three-batter minimum for pitchers to be implemented next season. Ever the chess player, I’m sure Papa Joe feels his creativity will be somewhat stifled.

The Cubs and White Sox are eyeing different goals as the start to the season draws near. The White Sox hope to steadily improve while the Cubs intend to maintain the standard of success they’ve set since 2015.

One change that hasn’t been talked about much could affect two-way players such as Shohei Ohtani. Starting in the 2020 season, players can only be designated as two-way on the roster if they have pitched in 20 innings and hit in 20 games. Each game considered a non-pitching game must include at least three plate appearances.

Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo has been incentivized to join this year’s home run derby thanks to a $1 million prize for the champion. That’s more than Gallo makes in salary. “He will make people look stupid in this,” said teammate Nomar Mazara.

The Irish Rovers are a holiday staple every St. Patrick’s Day, but so are roving checkpoints by your local police force. I shouldn’t have to remind you not to drive this weekend if you decide to partake in festivities that include adult beverages. In an age where you can order a taxi, Lyft, or Uber from the convenience of your mobile device, it is ultimately the poorest of poor decisions if you decide to drive your car (or motorcycle, yikes) after drinking alcohol. I don’t want to get all Nancy Reagan on you, but just say no. A first DUI offense in Illinois is considered a felony with mandatory jail time. Oh yeah, you might also kill yourself or somebody else.

The Unicorn Songby The Irish Rovers – Back in the day we used to spend St. Patrick’s Day at TC’s Pub in Oak Lawn, where Chicago legends Terry & Whitey would perform Irish music all day long. This was an annual staple, and despite a heavily-skewed White Sox crowd that numbered 200-300 every year, it was always a great time. Do you know the Unicorn Dance? If you do, you’re cool with me.

Green Riverby Credence Clearwater Revival – A noted St. Patrick’s custom in Chicago for the dyeing of the Chicago River, a tradition that started in 1961. They got the idea from public works engineers who would dye the river green to look for sewer discharges. Many say the river is already green, so why dye it? Utter nonsense. Not utter nonsense: The Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backward. Look it up.

Feel free to disregard, but…in the 1970s my grandmother used to buy me Green River Soda every year for the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago. The drink was developed in 1919 by the Schoenhofen Brewery of Chicago as a non-alcoholic product for the Prohibition era. It was a hit as a soda fountain syrup, trailing only Coca-Cola in popularity throughout the Midwest. The name of the CCR song (and album) Green River was inspired by the drink, according to John Fogerty.

Favorite Quote: "Look Ma! Top of the World!"
Cubs fan since I was five years old (1969): lover of B&W movies, the Oxford Comma, classic rock, and of course, baseball; annual roto-champ; partial insomniac; I detest the liberal use of the word 'albeit' by baseball writers; Nice guy, though somewhat brooding. Comment me, please and thank you.